[CQ-Contest] TO7A debacle

[brian coyne]

The various threads on this issue have been enlightening in the  number of disparate views expressed.
The major question is . Do we wish to have our contests Policed or not? The inescapable fact is that cheating is endemic in all forms of competition In Athletics, in addition to what can be witnessed by all during the event, there is drug testing. In motor sport the cars are examined to ensure that specification rules have been followed; I could add more  examples but my point is that compared to our sport  most other competition is relatively easy to police.

Ham radio contesting is an unsupervised sport and, by it's nature can only be based upon ;Honor and Trust', honor on the part of the entrant who signs a declaration that he has abided by the rules, and trust on the part of the organisers that the entry has been honestly declared.
It is laudable that CQWW Committee have taken on the task of ensuring, as far as they can, that rules have been followed, yet, as we have seen, they are condemned by some  because they have. What we are seeing is an 'Unofficial' Appeal with Attorney's both for the Prosecution and the Defence. Because entrants are unsupervised it is unrealistic for the defence to ask CQ  for strict proof. That burden should be shifted to the entrant to show that he did not cheat where the content of his log appears to be outwith the boundaries of normal probabilities and he must comply with whatever subsequent material the Committee request. Technical advances continue apace, the committee have only tools which they have. Honor and trust.

It is beyond doubt that Dim is an operator of extraordinary abilities and it could be unfortunate that he is so far ahead of the game to have come under suspicion but the message should be clear both to him and others with similar talents - be upfront when submitting logs to offer entire duration full view recording where all equipment, inc PC's, can be plainly seen = otherwise simply enter the 'Assisted' category. There will be howls of protest at this course of action but, in all honesty, what can be the only alternative for a committee always struggling to keep pace with innovation other than to accept the inevitable one class category to the detriment of many of us who still prefer to spin the dial?
As things stand presently we must not criticise CQ  for actions of which  we do not have full information and, as W0MU  has stated, accept that the decisions of committee are final.
73  Brian C4Z / 5B4AIZ.


      From: W0MU Mike Fatchett <w0mu at w0mu.com>
 To: Stan Stockton <wa5rtg at gmail.com> 
Cc: "cq-contest at contesting.com" <cq-contest at contesting.com> 
 Sent: Sunday, 10 May 2015, 4:00
 Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] TO7A debacle
   
So how can one prove without any doubt that he did not cheat?  The 
evidence is pretty clear to me.

These decisions are not up for public debate or trials.  The decisions 
of the committee are final.

Mike W0MU

On 5/9/2015 5:08 PM, Stan Stockton wrote:
>> On 5/9/2015 12:11 PM, Lloyd Cabral wrote:
>>
>>
>> After following this thread, my only wish is that Randy would have 
>> inquired here for another e-mail address
>> for Dim, or another source of contact with him BEFORE bringing this 
>> issue mainstream.      Accusations as
>> serious as this should first be handled privately with the accused 
>> given a fair chance to defend himself.
>> Stan K5GO hit the nail on the head with his previous post.    IMHO, 
>> taking Dim's case public right off seemed
>> premature, unprofessional and totally unnecessary.
>>          Lloyd  KH6LC
>
>> On May 9, 2015, at 3:15 PM, W0MU Mike Fatchett <w0mu at w0mu.com 
>> <mailto:w0mu at w0mu.com>> wrote:


>>
>> The guy got caught red handed and you people want to hang those that 
>> caught him.
>
> Mike,
>
> I wish you had told everyone you had information showing or even 
> saying he got caught red handed a long time ago.  Do you have some 
> information that says he was caught "red handed"?
>
> Everyone else is reading what has been written and the email posted on 
> the reflector says that the committee had a "belief" that he was using 
> assistance and substantiated the fact that it was a "belief" by asking 
> him to provide a recording (not required in the rules) in order to 
> further evaluate the situation.  However, even in that email, the 
> bottom line and last sentence, after what would appear to be an 
> attempt to communicate some hope that there would be further 
> evaluation, said emphatically and in no uncertain terms that he was 
> disqualified for 2014 but welcome to enter in 2015.
>
> I am not making any assumption this process is as cut and dried as you 
> would like it to be.
>
> 73...Stan, K5GO

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